Goals for 2025

I'm not a New Year's resolution kind of person. In January, I look back at the previous year and come up with some very loose goals. In September, at the beginning of the school year (because some habits NEVER go away...), I reassess. This all makes me sound far more organized than I am! Really, it's just that I need the motivation. Seeing a body of work motivates me to keep working, keep practicing. 

2024 was all about practicing. I'd like to continue with that into 2025. So here are some goal-type aspirations for this year, with scribbles that I made in 2024.

Try Something New

This is a really quick, rough sketch from an image I found at Sketch Daily.

There are so many things I want to try! 

• Urban sketching. I need to get out of my house once in a while! I also want to be the person who does these amazing ten minute sketches while on vacation. Right now, I'm not that at all! 
• New programs and apps. At the end of last year, I started tinkering with InDesign. I pay for that whole stupid and expensive suite of programs so I might as well learn how to use them. I'd also like to look into free or cheap programs because cost should not be a barrier to creativity. Also, paper and pencil is just about as affordable as you can get and I'd like to revisit simple techniques.
• Paper doll how-to books. These have become an odd focus of my very small collection of paper dolls. I love how-to books, tutorials, etc, and I'd like to work through some of those.
• Sewing, maybe. I have some non-standard dolls in my collection and I'd like to learn how to sew for them. I also have all of my grandmother's cross stitching supplies. I'd like to use some of that.

Which brings me to my next goal...

Use It Up

Another quick sketch, based on a sewing pattern cover design

I have SO MANY THINGS! I bet you do, too. I have oil paints, watercolors, gouache paints, brushes, panels, sketchbooks, sheets of watercolor paper, mat board, scrapbook paper, embroidery floss and fabric, apps I've never opened, books I've never read....the list goes on! So before I seek out the dopamine hit of buying new art supplies, I'm going to use them up. I want to stretch this goal out to everything. Do I need a new t-shirt just because I like the graphic? Do I need a new book? What does "need" even mean anymore???

And that ties into my third goal...

Spend Mindfully

Faces I drew from the Sketch Daily site

I like the idea of spending money with intention. I really want to think before I buy something. Maybe it's better to buy a higher quality item that will last longer rather than something quick & cheap. And support creative people! Buy things from small businesses and artisans and creative folks. It's good for them, it's good for me, and we can all feel awesome about it.

Pay It Forward

Close-up of a sketch, also from Sketch Daily

 

I'm incredibly lucky! I get to do what I love every day. I've been able to stay home with my kids and create. It's something I am deeply aware of and I want to share it. My plan is to write more tutorials. My work has improved incredibly since I started this little blog almost thirteen years ago. And it's had its ups and downs! But I'm at a place where the teens need me less and I need to channel that time into something productive.

 

And finally...

 

Create More

An art history book I'm very eager to read!

 

Drawing, painting, and such are definitely on my to-do list. I want to make more beautiful things. More paper dolls, paper doll books, paintings, writing, etc. But I also want to make more time. I want to take the time to hang out with the teens. My oldest is a freshman in high school and my youngest is in 7th grade. They have their own lives but they're still here and I want to hang out with them. My husband and I can finally get out once in a while and I want to make time for that, too. And reading! Yes, I read a lot, but most of it is sci-fi for fun and not anything with substance. I have loads of art history books I've never read. There needs to be time for that, too. 

 

Another sort of miscellaneous goal is to spend more time offline. Social media, doom scrolling, online shopping - it's all been a bit much lately. It's making me feel unproductive and triggers my depression. I'd like 2025 to be more like 1995, where I walked everywhere, always had a book and a sketchbook handy, and had to actually CALL or SEE people.

That's all of it. Five very vague ideas for what I'd like to do in 2025. I know everyone talks about SMART goals - that is WAY more organized than I can handle. Maybe these resonate with you, too. Feel free to share your goals and aspirations!